The present invention relates generally to communications systems and more particularly to a method for allocating communications-related charges.
In a communications system, a called party (User B) is occasionally unable or unwilling to accept an incoming call from a calling party (User A), but may wish to engage in a communication session with the calling party at a later time. However, in many circumstances, returning the call may result in the originally called party, User B, being subject to charges. For instance, in some locations, calling a mobile telephone imposes charges for the wireless service upon the calling party. Even in jurisdictions where this calling-party-pays approach is not prevalent, such as the United States, return calls may nonetheless impose charges on User B, such as for long-distance tolls.
Under these circumstances, User A, who placed the original call, may desire that charges for a subsequent return call be reversed. In other words, User A may wish that all or part of the charges that would normally accrue to User B for the return be charged instead to User A. This may be particularly useful in a business context, where the likelihood of a returned call might be dramatically decreased if the originally-called party is required to pay for the return call. A system that allows charges for a returned call to be automatically re-allocated between the parties would thus improve the chances of a return call.